Throughout history and across cultural divisions, a variety of different ceremonies and memorials have been used to commemorate the death of a loved one. Indeed, ceremonies and memorials have become integral for helping the living cope with the death and for commemorating the loved one for future generations. For instance, traditional western ceremonies typically involve a funeral home visitation, a burial, and a wake, with the grave site being marked by a headstone. In the case of cremation, ashes are often placed in a sealed urn. For many historically significant individuals, their deaths are sometimes commemorated with a memorial, such as a statue, which is often dedicated years after that individual's death.
While traditional ceremonies and memorials are without a doubt important, they do have several shortcomings. For instance, visitors have traditionally been required to be physically located at the ceremony or the memorial to view or reflect on the individual. If you are not physically present at the ceremony or the memorial, you cannot share in the achievements and memories associated with the individual. In the case of many ceremonies, the duration is limited to the actual time of the ceremony. Any reflection after the ceremony is limited to the memories of those who actually attended. A further shortcoming is the relatively limited scope of the commemoration. Visitations typically involves a eulogy and memories shared between the participants. Outside the spoken words of the visitors, however, little or no other memories are shared. In the case of traditional memorials, including headstones, urns, statues and the like, memories and messages are usually limited only to a few words etched in stone or on a plaque.
Related U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,978 (hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference) discloses, among other things, a user interface on a computer system that displays information about an entity, such as a person, a business, a pet, a country, etc. The screen is associated with the entity. A plurality of recordations are associated with the entity. The recordations are of at least two different types and are associated with the period of time. A plurality of selection mechanisms are on the screen. Each of the selection mechanisms are associated with at least one type of recordation. A time selection mechanism is adapted for selecting a period of time. The time selection mechanism is associated with at least a portion of the plurality of recordations and is operative to present one or more recordations that correspond with the selected period of time. The user interface can be accessed over a computer, either as a stand-alone or over a network, whereas on a memorial such as in a headstone.
The present invention provides a novel method and system for creating and presenting commemorative videos. While the invention has particularly utility and benefit in the death care industry (e.g. for creating and presenting commemorative videos about a deceased loved one), it will be readily appreciated that the invention offers many benefits, uses, and applications, both in the death care industry and in other industries or applications.